


Sea Salt

by yeonlyfe



Category: ENHYPEN (Band), I-LAND (Korea TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:20:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27686830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeonlyfe/pseuds/yeonlyfe
Summary: Niki never felt like this, the feeling was too foreign to him. Ever since he met Sunoo that day in the library, he was nothing but a mix of excitement, curiosity and something that wasn’t in his dictionary.He thought the feeling would soon disappear under the blasting sun, evaporate into nothing, and maybe he could recognize himself again finally.But instead of disappearing, the feeling became more prominent over time, forming into something else, just like a sea salt.
Relationships: Kim Sunoo/Nishimura Riki | Ni-ki
Comments: 16
Kudos: 131





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Sunki Day!! A little gift from me to celebrate it.

Niki checked his phone, it was 10 PM, and he couldn’t believe that he was here, in the middle of the night walking through the library door, when he wouldn't even visit the place in the broad daylight.

Curse his professor and her stupid deadline.

Niki didn’t even spare a glance at the librarian who looked so focused on his phone. Guess the supervisor was home already.

His university library opened for 24/7. Even the convenience store near his apartment didn’t really open 24 hours a day!

He immediately looked for the reference he needed for his assignment. 

Finally after hours of looking (he felt like it at least), he got a handful of books. He read the notes filled with books titles he got from his friend this morning, and it seemed like he got everything that was listed there.

Niki reluctantly brought his legs further inside, his friend said the best place to sit here was near the big window on the other side of the library. The wifi was good.

Having just moved here a few months ago, he still needed some help from his friends. He was grateful for every information they gave to him.

The one that was truly useful, and not the one that was part of their jokes.

Niki stopped his track.

Today was the weekend, no one should be here except for someone as dumb as him who missed their deadline twice and ended up with extra work that due at 7 AM.

Someone was sitting near the window, reading a book.

Wait- someone really read a book in the library? Not doing their assignments but just simply reading?

His friends told him about the ghost in the library as well, they said the ghost would show up at midnight, just sat reading a book in one of the tables there. Just like any other student who was rushed to submit their assignment here. But the ghost would turn into something horrible once you heard the crying.

Honestly? Niki didn’t really pay it any mind.

Niki wasn't afraid of something that couldn’t harm him. And ghosts who didn’t have any physical form couldn’t do shit.

Niki stared at the person, a boy maybe his age, who was so focused on his book he was reading.

The boy oddly resembled Jay’s description of a library ghost. Someone who sat reading a book. Actually Jay said the ghost would mimic student’s behavior, doing their paper or some mundane things.

Niki pitied the ghost on Jay’s story, even after death, they still needed to do their homework. Jay kicked him when Niki said that out loud.

Niki chose not to pay any mind anymore to the ‘ghost’. Guess the ghost could finish his business or something, it was a public library after all.

Niki sat on one of the seats, just a few tables away from the boy. From where he was sitting, Niki could see that the boy had a really pretty face. He didn’t remember Jay mentioned a pair of beautiful eyes.

Niki put the books on top of the table. He pulled out the laptop from his bag and started doing this hell of assignment.

Do all demons have beautiful features? He doubted that someone who belonged in heaven would choose to haunt this place.

Wait-

Sleep deprived, Niki would blame sleep deprived. Fuck it.

Niki put on his earphone and played his favorite song. He played some music to help him focus more on his works, definitely not to distract him from glancing at the boy every second.

* * *

Niki typed the last sentence of his assignment. He was surprised at himself, he didn’t know that he could manage to focus on his assignment for hours. Maybe not that focused, but he was done, and that’s all that matters anyway.

Niki started to pack his things into the bag. He glanced at the boy who was reading- um seemed like the boy wasn’t reading anymore, and instead, he was staring at Niki right now.

Niki was shocked when the boy stood up and walked toward him.

And maybe Niki was a bit scared of ghosts. A bit.

Well, it looked like the boy wasn’t really a ghost after all. Niki was sure no ghost could pull a chair and sat in front of him right now.

“Hi.” The boy greeted him like it was the most normal thing in the world.

It was normal of course, but hell, not in this situation. Not in the middle of the night at the library, definetely not to a stranger that didn't really want to have something to do with him. 

Honestly there was something, but let’s not talk about it.

“Ugh hi?” Niki finally said after inspecting the boy from head to torso, well half of his body disappeared under the table that separated them.

“You look like you just saw a ghost.” The boy talked to him.

“You are not one?”

To Niki's surprise, the boy laughed instead of answering his question. He knew he must sounded so stupid, but to be fair that was the only answer- or question he got on him. He was too busy panicking.

“That’s stupid.” The boy said after his laugh- his beautiful laugh ended.

Shit, Niki must have lost his mind already. He wouldn't think the boy’s laugh as melody if he was in his right mind. 

Sleep deprived. Yeah, that was the only answer.

“My name is Sunoo, Kim Sunoo.”

“Excuse me?” Niki was confused, why would this boy, Sunoo, introduce himself out of sudden?

“I saw you staring at me.” Sunoo smiled, God, that was so beautiful-

“Quite multiple times actually.” Sunoo continued.

Niki was bewildered, he didn’t know that he would catch Niki staring. But no one couldn’t really blame Niki, he thought Sunoo was not real! And it wasn’t everyday you stumbled upon a beautiful ghost after all.

“So, what’s your name?” Sunoo said after he saw how flustered Niki was.

“Niki, Nishimura Niki.” Niki finally said.

The person in front of him smiled. “Niki.” He tasted the name. “That’s a really beautiful name.”

“Not as beautiful as yours tho.”

Silence.

“Wait-” Niki didn’t mean to say that damn it! It was like an automatic response, that one where you couldn’t help but express your fascination toward something, yeah, something like that.

And Niki was fascinated when he saw how red Sunoo’s ears became at the sudden compliment.

“That was unexpected.”

“I know.”

“So, why did you stare at me before?”

“I thought you’re a ghost.”

Sunoo chuckled. “Well they said this place is haunted.” He had a playful smile “But rest assured, I’m human just like you, I suppose?”

“Um, may I ask why are you here? In the library I mean.” Niki got so curious why would someone stay at the library doing nothing, well, Sunoo wasn’t completely doing nothing, but-

“I just love spending my time here reading a book.” Sunoo said. “Guess I was so absorbed in my book that I didn't realize it’s midnight already.”

Niki glanced at the book on Sunoo’s hold. Sunoo seemed to notice that. “Do you want to read it?”

“Um no thanks.” Niki quickly declined. “I don’t really like reading.” He added. He didn’t even know why he said that to a book lover.

Sleep deprived.

“Yeah, suits you.” The other said. “You seemed so lost back there, when you looked for those books.”

“You saw me?”

“Yeah! This place is too quiet, you can hear every footsteps, and no one would miss your cursings.”

Niki got shy out of sudden, he tended to curse a lot, and he didn’t really care about that, but being noticed by this beautiful person for his cursing was something else. “Sorry.”

Sunoo stared at him. “It’s totally okay, my friend put a swear word in every sentence.”

“Well then-” Sunoo stood up. “Enjoy your night Niki.” He said before walking away after throwing a smile at Niki for the last time.

Niki just sat there. Blinking.

What the hell was that???

* * *

Niki was confused for days. 

It shouldn’t be something so confusing. Just a stranger talking to him and then leaving.

But the problem is, the stranger was so beautiful and somehow Niki couldn’t really get rid of him from his mind, fuck.

That was why he was here. Standing like a creep outside the library, peeking at the boy who was once again reading something.

Niki was by no means a coward. But he couldn’t really bring himself to approach Sunoo.

What could he say? ‘Hi, I’m sorry for mistaking you as a ghost last time, can I get your number?’

No, He wasn’t that dumb.

But maybe that would work???

Niki was surprised when he couldn’t find Sunoo on his seat anymore.

He looked through the library-

Shit- Sunoo was already at the library counter, checking out a book.

Niki wanted to run away but hell, he was trapped between being caught by Sunoo or drenched in the rain.

He was about to risk it all and ran when suddenly someone called his name. “Niki?”

It was Sunoo. Niki was a bit emotional that the other remembered his name, but he was busy panicking after being caught by the other once again.

“Hi Sunoo?” Niki awkwardly said.

“Niki! Thought I’m wrong haha.” Sunoo’s laugh rang through the rain, it was beautiful. “Are you hiding from the rain Niki?”

Great! Niki nodded eagerly, thanks to Sunoo he got his excuse.

“You don’t have an umbrella?”

Niki was dumbfounded. “Who owns an umbrella?”

Sunoo laughed softly. “You’re unbelievable, that’s like a basic necessity, Niki.”

Sunoo opened his bag to look for something. He seemed to have a hard time doing that tho. “Wait-” He glanced up at Niki. “I just remembered that I gave my umbrella to my friend.”

“Looks like I don’t have the basics necessary as well.” Sunoo said. Niki chuckled at him, Sunoo was so cute when he smiled sheepishly like that.

“Are you going to wait for the rain to stop?” Niki asked the other.

Sunoo looked at the rain that dropped mercilessly into the ground. It was beautifully calming and yet overwhelming at the same time. “Maybe? I have books with me.” He turned to Niki. “Don’t want to wet them.”

“We- we could wait together then.” Niki offered the other.

“Okay.”

* * *

The rain looked like it would stay for a really long time. Niki and Sunoo were just standing there, outside the library, side by side, looking at the rain together, in silence.

It wasn’t awkward at all, the silence was oddly calming and Niki felt like he could just spend the rest of his day being like this, under the shade, just being with Sunoo.

“Niki.” He was surprised when Sunoo called his name out of sudden.

He turned his gaze toward Sunoo, who was staring into his side. Niki followed the gaze.

Someone was picking up their friend, maybe a lover, the person was holding the umbrella for the both of them.

“That was like a scene from a romance movie.” Sunoo turned to face him. “Don’t you think so Niki?”

Niki looked at the other. Sunoo reached out his hand under the rain. “I want to experience something like that.”

“Something like a scene from the movie?”

“Yeah, I love romance.”

Something flashed into Niki’s mind. “I think we’re at something like that.”

Sunoo gave him a curious look. “What do you mean?”

“A scene from the movie.” He looked at Sunoo. “We’re waiting for the rain to stop together.” Sunoo seemed to be interested.

Niki smiled. “In front of an old building with a famous ghost story, and suddenly we heard a scream-”

“That’s not the genre I want Niki!” Sunoo was laughing.

Niki was happy that he could make Sunoo laugh. He decided that he should learn more in order to be the source of Sunoo's laughter.

* * *

  
  


Niki had a really bad day. Well, days.

He was so disappointed at himself after failing to get Sunoo’s number the last time. He tried to come to the library again after that day he met Sunoo when it was raining. But he couldn’t find the other. He thought Sunoo would come to the library everyday, and it seemed like the book lover was too busy to come.

“You need to stop sulking Niki.” Jay, his friend, said to him.

“You're still moping because of that boy?” Sunghoon, his other friend, asked.

They were walking on the side of the road, they were on their way to have a coffee. They had dragged him to this new cafe that just opened a few weeks ago.

Niki didn’t really want to be here, because, first he knew that Jay chose to come all the way here just because the cashier was his boyfriend.

Jay excitedly opened the door. “Jungwon I’m here!”

“Stop it, I’m working.” Jungwon ignored his boyfriend.

Niki just stared at them before turning his gaze toward his other friend, who was busy with his phone.

Sunghoon looked outside a few times. That was the second reason why he didn't want to be here.

Niki looked at the building that stood outside the cafe. Department of Literature, Sunghoon’s boyfriend should be there right now.

“Looks like Jake hasn’t finished his midterms.” Sunghoon muttered to himself.

And there was the third reason. He was single. That’s it. He didn’t want to be surrounded by couples, damn it!

* * *

Niki sipped his coffee bitterly, not because of the taste, but the scene in front of him. “You said you want to cheer me up.” He said to his friends.

Jay who was busy making stupid faces to his boyfriend who was ready to kick him from the cafe turned around to face Niki. “We are! Don’t you love your drink? I especially asked Jungwon to add an extra shot in it.”

Niki didn’t think he needed extra bitterness in his life right now.

The both of them turned their gazes to Sunghoon.

Sunghoon was busy texting with his boyfriend.

“Let him be, Jake was too busy to meet him lately.” Jay said.

Niki let out a sigh.

“Hey Niki.” Jay called him. “Tell me about your crush.”

Niki rolled his eyes. “He’s not my- oh my God that’s him.”

The cafe door opened, someone was walking in. 

Jay turned around to see at the direction Niki was staring. “Huh? That’s-” 

“Sunoo!”

Niki was surprised when Sunghoon, who was so focused on his phone, called the person who just entered the cafe.

“Sunghoon!” Sunoo walked toward their table.

To say Niki was confused was an understatement. “You know him??” He asked Sunghoon.

“Yeah! He’s Jake's best friend.” He said before greeting Sunoo who just arrived in front of them.

“Are you going to meet Jake? He’s still got another hour before finishing.” Sunoo said to Sunghoon. 

Sunoo’s face lit up when he saw Niki sitting beside Sunghoon. “Niki!”

“Uh Hi.” That was not so good Niki.

“I don’t know that you’re friends with these guys.” Sunoo said. “So he’s the foreigner you talked about Jay?” He even knew Jay???

“Yeah. About time you meet him.” Jay threw a playful look at Niki. “What a coincidence that Niki wants- SHIT” Jay hit his knee on the table. 

Niki just kicked him under the table. He sent a threatening look at his friend.

“He’s the friend that I talked about before Niki.” Niki turned to look at Sunoo. “The one that put swearing words in every sentence.”

“I’m not swearing all the time damn it!” Jay exclaimed.

“Yeah you are.” Sunoo didn’t really want to argue with Jay right now. He turned to Niki. “I was so curious when Jay showed a video of his friend dancing, turns out it’s you? What a coincidence!”

Niki couldn’t hide his smile. He glanced at Jay who had a smug face. Well, Niki probably needs to thank him.

“Hey Sunoo.” Jay called the other. “Are you busy?”

Sunoo shook his head. “Not really, I just finished my midterm.”

So, that was why he wasn’t reading in the library. But why didn’t he study there anyway???

“Good, why don’t you just join us here then?” Jay said. Niki definitely needed to thank him.

“Is that okay?”

“Why won’t it be? I think it will be more than okay.” Jay had the audacity to throw a wink at Niki. He wondered how patient Jungwon must be to have Jay as his boyfriend.

“Yeah we don’t mind.” Sunghoon chirped. “Right Niki?”

Niki didn’t trust his own voice right now, he nodded instead.

The moment Sunoo sat beside Jay, he knew that fate was trying to help him after all this time.

to be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Happy Sunki Day! This will be a really short story to celebrate Sunki Day haha. 
> 
> A shameless promo, you can find other Sunki AUs on my page.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy it! Thank you so much for reading it! 
> 
> You can find me at Twitter @yeonlyfe.
> 
> Have a nice day!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He got a lifetime to love without being afraid to get turned into sea foam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last gift for Sunki Day!

Niki read the text on his phone over and over, as if that would help his lecture to finish faster.

Niki couldn’t even understand what his professor was saying right now. He lost track already in 10 minutes after the class started. Niki turned his gaze toward his bag that laid on the floor just beside his seat. He could see the handle of the umbrella peeked.

He looked outside. It was raining.

Niki read the text once again.

‘Sunoo where are you?’

‘Library. Stop texting me, I know you’re in class rn.’

Yeah, that was the same Kim Sunoo. The one that he just met weeks ago.

Both of them got a lot closer ever since they found out that in fact they know the same group of friends.

And Niki was beyond grateful for that.

Niki couldn’t really explain Sunoo in sentences. But maybe ‘anomaly’ was the closest thing to describe him.

He thought that the feeling he had for Sunoo was a mere curiosity. Something people felt when they found something different, something odd, things that brought nothing to their memory.

And Kim Sunoo was something like that to Niki.

He thought by knowing Sunoo better his curiosity would soon disappear. But hell, he wondered even more.

 _‘I thought you hate reading?_ ’ The other had asked him one day, in the library as always.

 _‘I’m, but I love being here.’_

Niki still remembered how Sunoo looked like he was thinking about something, before leaning over the table and asking him. _‘Do you know about the loneliest whale?’_

And his answer was obviously a ‘no.’

Lately Sunoo had been interested in the ocean. He saw the other read books about them while playing a video of waves crashing into the shore.

They spent that day talking about the whale that sang a different song from its kind. Making it hard to find each other.

Niki was wondering, maybe all this time Sunoo was singing different tunes just like the whale. But instead of being lonely, the song attracted more people to approach him.

Something about Sunoo easily drew people in.

And Niki was nothing but a human being.

Sunoo was just always like that.

With the amount of the time Niki had spent with the other, he could proudly say ‘always’.

Sunoo was so easy to read and yet so hard to understand.

Honestly there were a lot of things Niki realized he didn’t quite know about the world. Sunoo’s world especially.

One of the things about Sunoo that he didn’t expect was how willing the other to walk under the rain without something to help him hiding from piercing drops. 

_‘It’s just water, not really a big deal. If you run and trip, that one is a big deal.’_

Sunoo was fine being soaked by the rain as long as he didn’t have any books with him.

Niki took his phone, typing something.

‘Do you find any book you want to read?’

Niki got the reply right after.

‘Focus on your class Niki! And yes, I already checked them out.’

He glanced at the time, the class should be finished by-

“Okay that’s all for today-” Niki didn’t even hear the rest of it.

He ran outside. 

“Shit-” He almost forgot about the umbrella in his bag. He was about to open it when he realized that it would be harder for him to run while holding it.

Niki said fuck it and pull up his hoodie.

* * *

Niki loved exercising but running while being careful on the slippery road was exhausting. He stopped and braced himself on a tree. He could see the library building finally.

Niki quickly tried to make himself somehow decent. He was wondering how one could look decent after running across university under the rain. Niki pulled out the umbrella from his bag and opened it.

Niki walked his way into the library.

It was insane how easily Sunoo brought a smile into Niki’s face even without trying. He saw Sunoo waiting for the rain to stop in front of the library building, he was playing with the rain again.

Niki skipped to him. He could see the confusion in Sunoo’s face when he realized that Niki came to him.

“Niki- oh my God, you’re-” Sunoo couldn’t even finish his sentence, he was too surprised to see Niki here. “You have an umbrella and yet you’re soaked.” Sunoo said once Niki stood right in front of him, umbrella in hand, covering both of them.

“Hi.”

Sunoo rolled his eyes. “Don’t hi me, look at you!” Sunoo reached out to wipe some water droplets from Niki’s temple using his sleeve. “How-”

“I just want to get here faster.”

The hand wiping Niki’s forehead stopped at that.

Niki felt something changed in him ever since he met the person in front of him. He was an honest person in the first place, and yet he kept getting bolder and bolder each time. “I just want to see you.”

He could clearly see how red started to creep its way into Sunoo’s ears. “You’re so stupid.”

Niki just laughed softly. “Come on.” He reached to hold Sunoo’s hand. “Let’s go home.”

Sunoo stepped into the rain, joining Niki fully under the umbrella.

They stood dangerously close to each other. Sunoo could even hear his own heartbeat. “Thank you.”

Niki said nothing, he just smiled.

Niki made sure that no rain could reach the other. He tilted the umbrella more into Sunoo’s side.

And Sunoo realized that. He glanced at Niki, he could see that Niki’s right shoulder was wet. Niki really was dumb.

“Let’s hold it together.” Sunoo placed his hand on top of Niki’s that held the umbrella. He scooted closer to the other. 

Niki was close to putting his arm around Sunoo’s shoulder, but he stopped himself. He felt like his heart wouldn't be in a good condition if he did that.

Being around Sunoo’s presence was always overwhelming.

“Niki.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you know that once a mermaid dies they would turn into sea foam?”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Don’t you think that's sad?” Sunoo stopped his track. “Living their life only to turn into sea foam, being washed by the waves and ending up being nothing.”

Niki could see Sunoo’s light started to dim. He turned to face the other. “I don’t think so.”

Sunoo’s eyes fell on him. “How is that so?”

“They don’t turn into nothing. They become one with the place they grew in.” Niki felt silly talking about it, maybe Sunoo’s influence was stronger than he had expected. “I think it’s beautiful that they surround their loved ones even after their death.”

Sunoo smiled at him funny. Even Niki wanted to laugh at himself. 

“I never think about that.” Sunoo said.

“Maybe you need to read more fairytales.”

Sunoo laughed softly. “Yeah I think I need to do that.” It wasn’t like Sunoo hadn’t finished all the fairytales in the library already.

Sunoo was surprised when he found that Niki was staring at him without even blinking.

“Do you want to see the ocean Sunoo?”

That was a silly question that was asked in the middle of the rain season. Imagine the wind and cold.

But Sunoo felt his heart fluttered at the thought.

“Yeah, I want to see the ocean.”

* * *

  
  


Maybe going to the ocean wasn’t really a bad idea.

“Waaah” Sunoo ran to get closer to the water. He giggled when the wave almost reached his feet. He crouched down to play with the salt water.

Niki saw the other fondly. Driving all the way here was really worth it.

Everything when it came to Sunoo was always worth it.

He had an idea when he saw the other started to stand after playing with the sand. Niki approached Sunoo from behind and wrapped his arms around the other.

“What- No!” Sunoo screamed when Niki playfully tried to throw him into water. 

Both of them were laughing together.

“Do you want to get into the water Niki?” Sunoo asked him. He was still on Niki’s arms.

Niki answered without thinking twice. “Yeah.”

* * *

Niki held Sunoo’s hand. 

They were stepping on the big rock, trying to play in a less crowded area, somewhere with calm waves. They just changed their clothes. Sunoo didn’t know if he could call Niki’s short as one. 

“Niki I still think you need to wear a shirt.” He tugged the other’s arm. “You’ll catch a cold.”

With the amount of times Niki ran under the rain to get Sunoo, he doubted that he wasn’t immune yet to the cold.

“It’s okay, you’re wearing one already, let’s just say that you wear it for the both of us.”

Sunoo rolled his eyes. “You’re unbelievable, don’t come to me if you’re not feeling well later.”

“Then to whom I suppose to go home?”

Sunoo thought Niki was too dangerous for his poor heart. He tried to hide his smile. “You’re so annoying.”

Niki said nothing, but Sunoo knew Niki was smiling, he let the other lead their way once again.

Sunoo pulled Niki’s arm when they got close to the water, stopping them before going further.

“Isn’t too deep, Niki?” Sunoo looked at the ocean before them. “I can’t really swim.”

Niki smiled. “Don’t worry, I’m good at swimming.”

“That’s not really helping!”

“Why? Just hold onto me, and you’ll be safe.”

Sunoo’s heart skipped a beat at that. It had been stopped for a few times already before, and the reason to all was smiling at him stupidly. Sunoo hated him.

Sunoo was surprised when Niki started to get into the water. It reached Niki’s chest.

That’s too deep for Sunoo. He was afraid he would trip and lost his footing.

“I don’t think I can do it Niki.”

“It’s okay, here-” Niki turned his back toward Sunoo. “Get on.” He told the other.

Sunoo reluctantly held onto Niki’s shoulder and jumped into the water. He wrapped his arms around the other’s neck.

Niki started to swim away from the rocks.

“Niki! Don’t go too far!”

“It’s okay.”

“I’m not okay!”

The other just laughed instead of saying anything.

And suddenly Niki stopped. Sunoo felt something bad was about to happen. “Niki-hmph”

Sunoo didn’t expect Niki to dive into the sea with him still on his back. 

He felt a pair of arms holding his waist. Sunoo immediately searched for something to hold.

“Hah-” Sunoo was gasped for air when finally, finally, Niki brought him into the surface again. “You- YOU” He looked at the person before him.

Sunoo held onto Niki for dear life. He even wrapped his legs around him, screw it, Sunoo was beyond terrified. “Don’t you dare to do that again!”

Sunoo lost his mind when the other just laughed at him. “Okay, okay, sorry.” Niki tried to remove Sunoo’s hair from his face. “I won’t do it again.”

“Don’t let go!” He held onto Niki more when the other’s hand left his waist to wipe his face. 

Niki chuckled at that. “You know that I won’t ever let you go.”

Sunoo wanted to be mad at Niki for longer but looking at the other who was staring at him so deeply washed the annoyance away.

Sunoo was aware of his surroundings out of sudden.

There were no other people beside the both of them. 

The sun started to set.

The gentle waves.

Holding each other.

It was like a scene from a movie.

“Sunoo.”

The name’s owner just looked at Niki, Sunoo clenched his hand that was on Niki’s shoulder. “Yeah?”

Niki never felt like this, the feeling was too foreign to him. Ever since he met Sunoo that day in the library, he was nothing but a mix of excitement, curiosity and something that wasn’t in his dictionary.

He thought the feeling would soon disappear under the blasting sun, evaporate into nothing, and maybe he could recognize himself again finally.

But instead of disappearing, the feeling became more prominent over time, forming into something else, just like a sea salt.

Niki looked at the person in his arms. “Have I ever told you that you’re so beautiful?”

Sunooo forgot how to breathe for a second.

Niki never said it verbally, but the reason he looked at Sunoo was enough to explain how beautiful he must be in the other’s eyes.

Niki always looked at him as if Sunoo wasn’t real and just a result of his imagination. And Niki started to think that maybe Sunoo was.

This person was unreal.

“I don’t think so.” Sunoo finally said after gathering his voice.

“Let me tell you then.” Niki’s hand came up to caress Sunoo’s cheek. “You’re so beautiful that I thought you’re unreal.”

Sunoo melted into the touch.

The both of them basically laid out their feelings to each other. It was bare and there was nothing to cover it.

They never really talked about it before, about them.

There were friendly flirtings once in a while. They went on a few ‘dates’. Just eating lunch together or just having fun with each other.

And Sunoo knew that he somehow ended up being closer to Niki more than he thought he would be. 

“Will you be my boyfriend Sunoo?” And maybe Sunoo had expected the question. He lifted his hand and wiped the salt water from Niki’s face.

Maybe Niki was not real as well.

Sunoo didn’t know he would feel this safe despite being in the deep water. As a child the ocean always frightened him, it looked like an endless pool, and he was so afraid when he couldn’t find something to hold onto. 

Maybe that was the reason why he didn’t get to see the ocean that much and ended up yearning for it when he saw how beautiful the place was described in the book he read.

And maybe he wasn’t afraid because of the person in front of him.

“Okay.” He simply said.

Niki couldn’t believe what Sunoo just said. As if he wasn’t expecting the other to say yes.

Sunoo could feel that Niki pulled them even closer.

“Can I kiss you?” Niki asked him. Sunoo knew that Niki had been staring at his lips quietly for a while.

Sunoo laughed quietly and then leaned in.

Their lips locked just like that. Niki was a bit surprised but he didn’t show that, he was busy feeling the warmth of Sunoo’s lips.

It was nothing but an innocent kiss. Sunoo pulled away after staying for seconds longer. “That was my first kiss.”

“How was it?”

Sunoo couldn’t really look into Niki’s eyes. “I don’t know.”

Niki smiled at the other. He brought his hand to Sunoo’s chin, making the other look at him. “You can always find more about it.” Niki said before pulling Sunoo for another kiss.

The kiss was different, and Sunoo felt like he was melting into the ocean.

The fairytale never talked about a mermaid who turned into sea foam after a kiss.

But then again, he was human.

He got a lifetime to love without being afraid to get turned into sea foam.

the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!! Happy Sunki Day!! 
> 
> Hope you enjoy the story! Thanks for reading it!!
> 
> You can find me on Twitter @yeonlyfe!
> 
> Have a nice day!


End file.
